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Getting into Doctor Who.

So I just got a netflix account and they have Doctor Who 2005 and onwards. For some time I've been really curious about the series; but until now I wasn't really sure if I should. My primary question is if I should know something about the previous Doctors to enjoy the series (quick google search shows that the series are about the 9th doctor and onwards).

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

Not really, no. At the point the 2005 series came on, the series had been stopped for almost twenty years. The newer episodes have a nod here and there to the old continuity, but it's not required. I watched the first 2005 episode without any prior knowledge (I had never heard of Doctor Who before) and enjoyed it. you probably know more than I did.

Enjoy! Just give it a bit of time, the first few episodes aren't the best.

Give us a few comments about what you think when you see it, that's always fun.

If you are unsure, I can say this:
The series is essentially about a crazy super-powered alien taking humans on trips through space and time for fun. You have to be able to tolerate a lot of sillyness, but the pay-off is great. The fun episodes are amazing romps, the emotional episodes are deep and tragic, and the best episodes are both. The series as a whole is just grand.

Give it time until Dalek or The Doctor Dances, at least.

Last edited by Eldan; 2012-11-11 at 05:46 PM.

“YISUN was questioned once by their disciples at their speaking house. The questions were the following: ‘What is the ultimate reason for existence?’ To which YISUN replied, ‘Self-deception.’
‘How can a man live in perfect harmony?’ To which YISUN replied, ‘Non-existence.’
‘What is the ultimate result of all action?’ To which YISUN replied, ‘Futility.’
‘How best can we serve your will?’ To which YISUN replied, ‘Kindly ignore my first three answers.’

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

Gratulations, you know everything you need to know for the facts.

Though there is also the question of the tone. Whle hte effects got a lot better than they were in the sixties through eighties, Doctor Who is still often a silly, silly show with rhinoceros space policemen and scenery pulverizing overacting. Quite often, it does not take itself remotely seriously. It still works, and very well.

“YISUN was questioned once by their disciples at their speaking house. The questions were the following: ‘What is the ultimate reason for existence?’ To which YISUN replied, ‘Self-deception.’
‘How can a man live in perfect harmony?’ To which YISUN replied, ‘Non-existence.’
‘What is the ultimate result of all action?’ To which YISUN replied, ‘Futility.’
‘How best can we serve your will?’ To which YISUN replied, ‘Kindly ignore my first three answers.’

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

The first few seasons (series for you wacky brits among us) are pretty good, but IMO the show really started falling apart around when Torchwood started and I haven't watched it in years.

The things to remember is that it is among the softest of Soft SF on TV, that the Doctor can and will do anything if the script requires it no matter how absurd, and that continuity (both in the literal 'time' sense and the narrative one) is completely b0rked. Your enjoyment will likely come from the performances of the actors and quality of the production rather than from the writing, and if that isn't enough you'll likely drop out as the actors get worse and worse and the plots get more and more self-indulgent over its run.

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

The first few seasons (series for you wacky brits among us) are pretty good, but IMO the show really started falling apart around when Torchwood started and I haven't watched it in years.

The things to remember is that it is among the softest of Soft SF on TV, that the Doctor can and will do anything if the script requires it no matter how absurd, and that continuity (both in the literal 'time' sense and the narrative one) is completely b0rked. Your enjoyment will likely come from the performances of the actors and quality of the production rather than from the writing, and if that isn't enough you'll likely drop out as the actors get worse and worse and the plots get more and more self-indulgent over its run.

Have you watched any of season 5 onwards? Essentially everyone involved changed that season (from the Doctor to the showrunner) and since then it has changed a lot. Some like the change, others hate it, but if you didn't like the direction it was taking seasons in 3/4, the later seasons may draw you back in.

At the heart of all beauty lies something inhuman, and these hills, the softness of the sky, the outline of the trees at this very minute lose the illusory meaning with which we clothed them, henceforth more remote than a lost paradise.
-Camus, An Absurd Reasoning

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

Originally Posted by Weezer

Have you watched any of season 5 onwards? Essentially everyone involved changed that season (from the Doctor to the showrunner) and since then it has changed a lot. Some like the change, others hate it, but if you didn't like the direction it was taking seasons in 3/4, the later seasons may draw you back in.

I've heard a lot of good things about the new seasons, but also a lot of really disheartening stuff. It seems like individual episodes are getting better but the plot is even more emotionally manipulative and silly than ever, with Amy/Rory stupidity replacing the obnoxious Rose/Doctor cannonshipping and the Doctor pretending to be dead... even in the past when people wouldn't know about the event which supposedly killed him. That and the drama about the production is very dismaying, though I would love to be proven wrong and get some more good Who.

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

The closest tenor to Doctor Who is Douglas Adams (who was a Doctor Who writer at one point) and his Hitchhikers series. They have quite a bit in common, with the biggest difference being the focus on the an average man in Hitchhikers, while in Doctor Who it is often more focused on the guide.

I'm currently in need of an avatar. If you want to see one you made around and it is forum appropriate PM me.

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

Originally Posted by Water_Bear

I've heard a lot of good things about the new seasons, but also a lot of really disheartening stuff. It seems like individual episodes are getting better but the plot is even more emotionally manipulative and silly than ever, with Amy/Rory stupidity replacing the obnoxious Rose/Doctor cannonshipping and the Doctor pretending to be dead... even in the past when people wouldn't know about the event which supposedly killed him. That and the drama about the production is very dismaying, though I would love to be proven wrong and get some more good Who.

Why not give it a chance? The things you mentioned can be made sound a lot worse than they are when seen out of context (and an answer to the second pert was easily inferred from events, which was then explicitly confirmed in one of the more recent episodes).

@TVTyrant That is an apt comparison, especially since Adams was the head writer for a large chink of Tom Baker's era. The plot for the first Dirk Gently book is actually largely drawn from one of the episodes he wrote (City of Death)'

Last edited by Weezer; 2012-11-11 at 07:56 PM.

At the heart of all beauty lies something inhuman, and these hills, the softness of the sky, the outline of the trees at this very minute lose the illusory meaning with which we clothed them, henceforth more remote than a lost paradise.
-Camus, An Absurd Reasoning

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

So yesterday I watched the first 3 episodes... and I absolutely loved them! I am very glad I finally decided to watch the series, now I am worried I will finish it too soon as Netflix only has the first 3 seasons...

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

Originally Posted by Dusk Eclipse

So yesterday I watched the first 3 episodes... and I absolutely loved them! I am very glad I finally decided to watch the series, now I am worried I will finish it too soon as Netflix only has the first 3 seasons...

???

It has the first 6 seasons, including the christmas episodes; which in my experience are difficult to find through other sources.

Unless everyone's been lying to me and the next bunch of episodes are The Great Divide II, The Great Divide III, Return to the Great Divide, and Bride of the Great Divide, in which case I hate you all and I'm never touching Avatar again.

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

You poor person. Season four is awesome and season five is quite unbad.

“YISUN was questioned once by their disciples at their speaking house. The questions were the following: ‘What is the ultimate reason for existence?’ To which YISUN replied, ‘Self-deception.’
‘How can a man live in perfect harmony?’ To which YISUN replied, ‘Non-existence.’
‘What is the ultimate result of all action?’ To which YISUN replied, ‘Futility.’
‘How best can we serve your will?’ To which YISUN replied, ‘Kindly ignore my first three answers.’

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

Originally Posted by Water_Bear

I've heard a lot of good things about the new seasons, but also a lot of really disheartening stuff. It seems like individual episodes are getting better but the plot is even more emotionally manipulative and silly than ever, with Amy/Rory stupidity replacing the obnoxious Rose/Doctor cannonshipping and the Doctor pretending to be dead... even in the past when people wouldn't know about the event which supposedly killed him. That and the drama about the production is very dismaying, though I would love to be proven wrong and get some more good Who.

For the record.

Spoiler

Show

I despised the Rose/Doctoring but Amy/Rory has become one of the three fictional romances I don't actively root against. The Doctor pretending to be dead thing only comes up in series 7. Though if you're opposed to silly plots, yeah you're not going to like it.

I'm a Doctor Who fan, most definitely. But the plot is ridiculous, idiotic, and has holes that a truck could drive through with room to spare. Doctor Who is about getting caught in the moment of the scary, exciting, and interesting bits to the point that you forget how ridiculous it all is. If you can, it's awesome, if you can't it won't be. Though I'll just say, while I enjoy season 5-6, so far 7 has not gotten me caught up enough to forget the ridiculous of it all. But that's just me.

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

Yeah.

Spoiler

Show

Really, the two main things that bother me about Seasons 5+ are that I never quite got used to Matt Smith (I still don't think he plays a proper Timelord. He lacks Grandness. He doesn't have the fury. He isn't the Oncoming Storm, he's a child.) The second is that the energy seems to be missing. I don't get excited and caught up anymore. I could tolerate much more silliness if it was entertaining.

“YISUN was questioned once by their disciples at their speaking house. The questions were the following: ‘What is the ultimate reason for existence?’ To which YISUN replied, ‘Self-deception.’
‘How can a man live in perfect harmony?’ To which YISUN replied, ‘Non-existence.’
‘What is the ultimate result of all action?’ To which YISUN replied, ‘Futility.’
‘How best can we serve your will?’ To which YISUN replied, ‘Kindly ignore my first three answers.’

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

Originally Posted by Eldan

Yeah.

Spoiler

Show

Really, the two main things that bother me about Seasons 5+ are that I never quite got used to Matt Smith (I still don't think he plays a proper Timelord. He lacks Grandness. He doesn't have the fury. He isn't the Oncoming Storm, he's a child.) The second is that the energy seems to be missing. I don't get excited and caught up anymore. I could tolerate much more silliness if it was entertaining.

Well,

Spoiler

Show

Not sure why I'm spoilering this, but why not?Grandness isn't a guarentee in a timelord. It's not even a guarantee in the Doctor. I mean, consider Patrick Troughton, Peter Davidson or Silvester McCoy.

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

Originally Posted by Eldan

Yeah.

Spoiler

Show

Really, the two main things that bother me about Seasons 5+ are that I never quite got used to Matt Smith (I still don't think he plays a proper Timelord. He lacks Grandness. He doesn't have the fury. He isn't the Oncoming Storm, he's a child.) The second is that the energy seems to be missing. I don't get excited and caught up anymore. I could tolerate much more silliness if it was entertaining.

Well other than being a mad man with a box, anyone taking on that role is going to have hard time being more manic than Tennant!

The one advantage they could have used is making him fit in the background which Doc 10 certainly shouldn't have been able to (Daleks in Manhatten for example) but unlike Tennant I expect Doc 11 to demonstrate that whilst his predecessor makes a big deal about having had so much mercy, the highlight for me is when its mentioned a good man doesn't need any rules Doc 11 points out this isn't the time to wonder why he has so many!

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

Originally Posted by Eldan

Yeah.

Spoiler

Show

Really, the two main things that bother me about Seasons 5+ are that I never quite got used to Matt Smith (I still don't think he plays a proper Timelord. He lacks Grandness. He doesn't have the fury. He isn't the Oncoming Storm, he's a child.) The second is that the energy seems to be missing. I don't get excited and caught up anymore. I could tolerate much more silliness if it was entertaining.

To each their own. Personally Matt is my favorite of the newWho Doctors. The childlike nature makes it more fun, not less. And energy is the one thing he does not lack. It's only season 7 that was a let down for me, because I think each episode had very large flaws that I could not personally ignore. But even then there were parts that were brilliant in each episode, or at least had the potential to be.

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

Originally Posted by Dienekes

To each their own. Personally Matt is my favorite of the newWho Doctors. The childlike nature makes it more fun, not less. And energy is the one thing he does not lack. It's only season 7 that was a let down for me, because I think each episode had very large flaws that I could not personally ignore. But even then there were parts that were brilliant in each episode, or at least had the potential to be.

While Season 7 was/is certainly the worst one of the NuWho for me because of those flaws you mentioned, I can't blame Smith for it. He is an exceptional Doctor...just not Tennant.

Eleven can do manic, he can jump around like a little boy riding a sugar high and hit the dark, dramatic tones necessary for a 900+ year old Timelord. But when he tries to do angry, he falls flat. Rory can do true rage far better than Eleven, just because he doesn't look and sound like he's throwing a tantrum. I almost laughed a few times while Eleven stomped around yelling at the sky back in "The Pandorica Opens".

But Ten? He could do Fury. While he was still manic and crazy and dramatic, the fury of the Timelord was utterly devastating. Eleven shakes his fist and hops around shouting at people and objects. Ten just glares at you. He gives you a look that could make Death himself blanch. He looks you dead in the eye while he utterly destroys you and everything you love, and it is terrifying in it's grandeur.

Grandeur isn't a prerequisite to be a Timelord, but Ten had that in spades.

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

True, I'll say Tennant was probably a better actor than Smith. Actually take the probably from that last sentence. He was. But by the end of his run I didn't like his Doctor. The constant mooning over Rose, his blatant hypocrisy, and his repulsive melodramatic conclusion. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

Originally Posted by Dienekes

True, I'll say Tennant was probably a better actor than Smith. Actually take the probably from that last sentence. He was. But by the end of his run I didn't like his Doctor. The constant mooning over Rose, his blatant hypocrisy, and his repulsive melodramatic conclusion. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I agree with pretty much everything said in this post.

I'm currently in need of an avatar. If you want to see one you made around and it is forum appropriate PM me.

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

Unless everyone's been lying to me and the next bunch of episodes are The Great Divide II, The Great Divide III, Return to the Great Divide, and Bride of the Great Divide, in which case I hate you all and I'm never touching Avatar again.

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

Eccleston's Doctor was a step away from PTSD. His absolute rage at the beginning is tempered by Rose by the end of the series.

Then Tennant's Doctor was a bit more a part of the world. And he felt better than the world. He was selfish and hypocritical and on more than one occasion, gets called out on it.

So then Smith's Doctor was intentionally more child-like and whimsical. He's the funny old doctor. And at the same time, he seems much OLDER than the previous two. Like a guy in a retirement home trying to prove to the kids he's still hip and doesn't really want them off his lawn...the fact that he's physically younger just accentuates that.

I like them all, both in individual series and when looking at it as a whole. Fun stuff.

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

Eccleston's Doctor was a step away from PTSD. His absolute rage at the beginning is tempered by Rose by the end of the series.

Then Tennant's Doctor was a bit more a part of the world. And he felt better than the world. He was selfish and hypocritical and on more than one occasion, gets called out on it.

So then Smith's Doctor was intentionally more child-like and whimsical. He's the funny old doctor. And at the same time, he seems much OLDER than the previous two. Like a guy in a retirement home trying to prove to the kids he's still hip and doesn't really want them off his lawn...the fact that he's physically younger just accentuates that.

I like them all, both in individual series and when looking at it as a whole. Fun stuff.

I like you. I think you nailed his character progression pretty well (barring the last half season, where there have been some pretty major changes to 11's character)

At the heart of all beauty lies something inhuman, and these hills, the softness of the sky, the outline of the trees at this very minute lose the illusory meaning with which we clothed them, henceforth more remote than a lost paradise.
-Camus, An Absurd Reasoning

Re: Getting into Doctor Who.

My biggest problem with Tennant is that he seems too human. He's good and all, he's got the emotion down, but fundamentally he's a normal human being who's well and easy to relate to, and is a melodramatic ideal. The Doctor is far too close to human perfection as it is, so he needs some alien spirit to balance it out. That's what I like about Matt Smith—He's mostly normal, but he has these moments that make him seem decidedly inhuman.

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